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US Army – More Bang for your Buck! – HI Super Bazooka Review

As some of you my know, I’m a big fan of the USA Heavy Infantry, including building a themed force around them!

I’d just ordered the parts to take my mechanised wave to 1k points, including the parts to convert these weapon teams, when the actual models were announced.

Man, am I glad the post was slow!

In essence, I think the models are absolutely awesome and ordered the 2 teams needed for my army!

The models

Clearly you can see how it is a simple expansion of the HI aesthetic. By fitting the fluff and keeping the same base, they have kept the solid feel, which is essential for them to look event remotely capable of holding a honking great bazooka.

The figures themselves are nice and clean. They seem to be standard HI bodies with arm and head varients to make the team. A nice touch is the loader’s arm holding binoculars, hard to see in the official photo but looks good on the figure in the flesh.

As usual these use the warlord head system, so you can swap in and out for variety. I’ve bought some of the gas mask alternative heads to mix it up a bit!

The finished figures look as per below

Image from Warlord Games

On the table

In the fluff these guns are given to HI as they can stand the recoil, and looking at the weapons profile, you can see why, as its effectivly a heavy AT gun.

If we turn to page 150 of our books we find the superbazooka team rules.

Strengths

Big gun – These lads are here to party! The gun is a +6 pen bazooka, with the massive benefit of being a weapons team that doesn’t have the fixed rule. There are very few vehicles that don’t have to worry about this when it’s on the board. Remember as well as a shaped charge it doesn’t drop pen at long range.

Mobile – Remember this isn’t a fixed weapon, meaning they can advance and shoot. This makes them very very threatening. Under current rules you’ll often be looking for 5’s or 6’s, always remember to re roll your 1’s as its a weapons team. However when you pull the shot off, there is a very good chance something is very very dead. If the shaped charge -1 is dropped, this will become an even bigger factor.

Hard to hit and kill – between small team bonus, cover and down orders, plus the 6 needed to inflict casualties these guys can be very resilient when used right. A team of these in hard cover on ambush are going to need 6’s to be hit followed by 6’s to kill with small arms. If your opponent throws dice at them, that is less shots at everything else!

Veteran – As this us the only quality available, you might as well enjoy the advantages. In theory this makes them easier to give orders too, a greater chance of shedding pins and more likely to stay on the board. I say in theory mainly because its still me rolling the dice!

Drawbacks

Expensive – this team costs, and for good reason, but be aware that one is the same a lot more of almost anything else. One flamethrower, howitzer or good round of dice from your opponent and you’ll be in trouble.

Bullet Magnets – As above if the opponent has an interest in keeping his tanks alive, these guys are going to see more lead than a foundry and they are a very costly decoy unit.

No HE round – this seems to be the trade off for mobility and suvivability, unlike its fixed AT artillery equivilent, the super bazooka has no HE round. You need to account for this in army building and plan appropriatly for other anti infantry options.

Very Situationally dependant – when it comes down to it, its a single dice with usually a 5+ to hit. It is a risky proposition moving and shooting and its hard to use them without risking dying in the retaliation. But when you do pull it off…..oh boy!

Overall

I love the minis looks and aesthetic, and the rules make them a unique part of the army as mobile, hard to kill, very effective anti tank.

There is going to be 2 units of them in my themed force, but no-one every accused me of being sensible!